I have been using Figma for three years now, My school had the education plan of Microsoft which gave me access to the premium version of Figma and introduced me to it. I immediately enrolled in a course “Figma Essentials by Daniel Scott” on Skillshare but due to inconsistency (I hate it), I couldn’t go any further than the basics.

However, the basic knowledge of Figma was enough for me to use it for poster designs, giving me greater flexibility in manipulating design than Canva. I used Figma, especially for this purpose for 2 years. But during these two years, I purchased a hosting plan and got a domain, hoping to build a website someday.

So, during my Gap year, I decided to work on building the website. The only problem was that I didn’t know how to code but what I did know was that I could give it to someone who would build it for me provided that I gave them the design.

Everything paired up well. Equipped with some knowledge of design from designing posters occasionally, I started making the UI for my website. However, I lacked the UX knowledge to do user research, elements placement, and all. So I started looking for portfolio website inspiration on Figma Community, Internet, Pinterest, Behance, Dribble, etc. I brought some of the sections I liked in these inspirations and got a fully-fledged portfolio UI from the Figma community to reenact it and add the inspiration in the same design language.

Why did I want to build my website’s UI?

• I have always used Figma for everything else than its intended purpose (UI/UX), which I wanted to change.
• I wanted to get habituated with the best UI practices like making components and variants instead of just copying and pasting the assets.
• Not only that, I also wanted to be confident in my abilities to make a working website using just Figma (but I fell short in achieving that)
• I wanted to unlock what Figma has to offer by learning new techniques, tools, and processes.
• Lastly, I wanted to build a portfolio that resembles me so I decided to take matters into my own hands.

Did I succeed in achieving all my whys?

The short answer is No but Yes at the same time.

• This experience showed me my weak points.
• It introduced me to amazing processes “pro UI designers” use to smooth out their workflow.
• During and after the project I found out that I could make myself learn anything but I lacked consistency and discipline to get things 100% complete.

All in all this project allowed me to push myself out of my comfort zone and focus on leveling up my skills instead of wasting my time doing nothing.